Merkley: Border wall ‘a fourth-century strategy’

In explaining Democratic opposition to border wall funding, Sen. Jeff Merkley on Sunday dubbed the wall “a fourth-century strategy” that his party would not support.

“Thirty-foot concrete wall, 30-foot steel spikes, that's not the smart way, and that's what all the experts on the border tell us,” Merkley said in discussing the issue that sparked the impasse that led to a partial shutdown of the federal government.

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Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” the Oregon Democrat said, “The American people want us to spend money in a smart way.”

Merkley added: “$5 billion is a lot of money. That's 650,000 children attending Head Start. It's 2 million meals a day for a year — for a year for — for seniors. And to spend it on a fourth-century strategy rather than on stuff that actually improves border security is something we're just not going to do.”

When asked by host Jonathan Karl to clarify that Democrats would not vote in favor of spending money on the border wall, Merkley said “none.”

“The president has a lot of money we gave him last year for border security and he's not using it,” Merkley said.

Pressed by Karl on whether Democrats would consider the funding as part of a larger immigration plan, Merkley said he supported a comprehensive solution that could include fencing, but not a massive wall.

“We have a plan, a bipartisan plan, that's on the table. We have the 2013 plan that passed by a supermajority in the Senate that would address the vast bulk of these issues. So, we're ready for a broader discussion. The president hasn't been there,” he said.

Merkley says his visits to the U.S.-Mexico border have convinced him that the president does not grasp the situation fully.

“When you talk with the border guards," he said, “they fill you in on what's really happening and say the president's vision and understanding of the law, he just doesn't get it. “